Abstract:
The Nigerian constitution provides for there three tiers of government namely, Federal, State and Local Government tiers. The position of the local government administration was strengthened by the great reforms of the Murtala/Obasanjo regime in 1976, to enhance harmonization, uniformity and standardization of the local government structure and functions. The autonomy of the local government was further enhanced in June 1991 by the enactment of the local government (Basic Constitutional and Transition Provisions Amendment No. 23 Decree) that extended the presidential system to the local government. It was strengthened by the 1999 constitution. The administration of local government is exercised through elected or representative councils.The objective of the study is to examine the incumbency factor(s) in the method of political recruitment in the local government administration and to determine the use of informal system of recruitment in the recruitment of political officeholders in Enugu State. In Enugu State between 1999 and 2005, the former State governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, had used the informal method of recruitment of political officeholders, into the local government administration. The data for the study were analyzed using the mean score point value. After finding the mean a cut off-point was determined. The cut-off point was obtained by dividing the sum of nominal values by the number of scaling item. Any item with mean 2.50 or above was thus regarded as having been accepted by the respondents.The analysis of date shows that there was no transparency in the recruitment process of political officeholders into the local government administration in Enugu State from 1999 to 2005. The informal system of recruitment was used by the State Government where the former governor deliberately selected candidates who were either not competent or some thugs who they had used in the past. The implication of this system is that the council chairmen and councilors abdicate their constitutional functions of providing socio-economic and political service to the people and were romancing with the chief executive of the State to loot the council treasury.
